Big savings with Wisconsin’s Act 10

A new study shows that Wisconsin's controversial Act 10, which
limits collective bargaining, has saved public schools $584 million
since it was enacted.

With the passage of Act 10 last year, most school districts were
able to avoid spending cuts that might have resulted from reduced
state aid. In addition, they held the line on property taxes.

Steve Gunn of Education Action Group explains how schools
took the opportunity to reduce spending in the midst of economic
woes.

"A typical public school district
spends about 75 percent of its general budget on union labor costs,
and that figure had to be dealt with when things got real bad
financially," he says. "These schools got the opportunity to do
that and they did it."

Unions and others opposing Act 10 managed to get a sympathetic
judge to put Act 10 on hold for the time. Gunn believes taxpayers
will win in the long run.

"From the experts that I've read, the Wisconsin Supreme Court
will end up dealing with it and they will probably uphold it," he
tells OneNewsNow. "Whether the unions will try to push beyond that
to the U.S. Supreme Court, I don't know."

Though critics complain of lower salaries for teachers, Gunn
points out that Act 10 helped prevent massive layoffs and that
salaries will improve if and when he economy turns around.

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